Bag holding and packaging machine



Nov. 25, 1952 c. a. MOHALE ETAL 2,619,271

BAG HOLDING AND PACKAGING MACHINE Filed June 5, 1947 6 Sheets-Sheet 1 ON I 6 a m G) g k 9 I v a U O Q N k v k g n N \l I g m a i P I) o 9 m g mI Q/ d m Inventors "5 g g 9 Clifford 8. MC Hale a Emil H. Janssen 1; yAttorney;

NOV. 25, 1952 c, Moi-[ALE Er 2,619,271

BAG HOLDING AND PACKAGING MACHINE Fig.l3.

Clifford 8. Mc Hale Emi/ H. Janssen I mlentor:

Inventors Clifford B. McHa/e m t 8 \N\ NE Emil H. Janssen m sSheets-Sheet 4 W EM 08 m: m: m=

C B M HALE ET AL BAG HOLDING AND PACKAGING MACHINE Nov. 25, 1952 FiledJune 5, 1947 Nov. 25,1952 c. B. M HALE EFAL v2,519,271

BAG HOLDING AND PACKAGING MACHINE Filed June 5, 1947 s Sheets-sheet 5Inventors Clifford B. M: Hale Emil H. Janssen Nov. 25, 1952 c. B. MCHALEEHTAL 2,619,271

BAG HOLDING AND PACKAGING MACHINE Filed June 5, 1947 6 Sheets-Sheet 6Inventors Clifford 8. Mc Hale Emil H. Janssen By WM Patented Nov. 25,1952 BAG HOLDING AND PACKAGING MACHINE Clifford B. McHale, Morrill,Nebr., and Emil H.

Janssen, Torrington, Wy0.; said Janssen assignor to said McHaleApplication J unc 5, 1947, Serial No. 752,618

4 Claims.

This invention relates to a packaging machine and more particularly to amachine for packaging produce such as potatoes, apples, oranges, and thelike, and has for its primary object to dispense with much of the handlabor involved in introducing articles of merchandise, such as thosementioned above, into sacks ready for distribution.

Another object is to introduce a measured quantity of the articles to bepackaged into a sack of suitable capacity and then to weigh the packageand subsequently tie and distribute it.

A still further object is to deposit the articles promiscuously in achute down which they flow to the measuring feeder and to loosen thearticles and prevent their cloggin in the feeder during their dischargetherefrom.

The above and other objects may be attained by employing this inventionwhich embodies, among its features, a sack conveyor adapted to advanceempty sacks in succession toward a sackfilling station, means on theconveyor to hold a group of sacks in upright position with the upper,open ends extended, a feeder at the sack-filling station successively todischarge measured charges of the articles to be packaged into theextended open upper ends of the sacks and means to release the filledsacks from the conveyor as they recede from the sack-filling station.

Other features include a package conveyor upon which the filled sacksare deposited upon their release from the sack conveyor, means on thesack conveyor for supporting sacks with their open ends extended, and aweighing scale over which the package conveyor travels and by which theweight of the contents of each individual sack deposited thereon may bedetermined.

Still other features include a group of orifice plates linked togetherto form a sack conveyor, means on each plate to support a sack with itsopen end extended and in alignment with the orifice therein and a feederbeneath which the sacks supported on the conveyor are moved, and meansassociated with the feeder for loosening the. articles contained thereinduring their dis charge therefrom.

In the drawings,

Figure 1 is a sideview of a packaging machine embodying the features ofthis invention,

Figure 2 is a longitudinal sectional view through the packaging machineillustrated in Figure 1,

Figure 3 is a top plan view of the packaging machine,

Figure 4 is a transverse sectional view taken substantially along theline 4-4 of Figure 1,

Figure 5 is an enlarged longitudinal sectional view through thesack-holding and feeding device,

Figure 6 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view through the sackconveyor,

Figure '7 is an enlarged sectional view taken substantially along theline 1-1 of Figure 1,

Figure 8 is a fragmentary sectional view taken substantially along theline 8--8 of Figure 7 on a somewhat enlarged scale,

Figure 9 is a fragmentary enlarged view of the machine showing thearticle loosening apron and the drive mechanism therefor in detail,

Figure 10 is a sectional View taken substantially along the line |ll--l0 of Figure 9,

Figure 11 is a horizontal sectional view taken substantially along theline llH of Figure 10,

Figure 12 is an enlarged sectional view through the drive ratchet forthe sack feeder, and

Figure 13 is a fragmentary enlarged view of the main drive ratchet.

Referring to the drawings in detail, a main frame, designated generally20, comprises a side rail 2| which is supported on suitable legs 22preferably equipped with caster wheels 23. These legs are joined attheir upper ends by transversely extending cross bars 24, and extendingbetween the cross bars in spaced parallel relation are side bars 25 of aconveyor to be more fully hereinafter described. Rising from the sidebars 25 near one end are standards 26 which are joined at their upperends by a cross bar 21 carrying, adjacent one end, an upright 28. Aframe designated generally 29 is mounted on the side bars 5 adjacent theend remote from that near the standards 26, and mounted on this frame isa suitable drive motor 30 which is coupled to a speed reduction gearing3l carrying a drive sprocket 32 which has driving connection with a maindrive sprocket 33 through the medium of an endless chain 3-1. This drivesprocket 33 is fixed to a crank shaft 35 mounted in suitable earings 36at the upper end of the frame and carries at opposite ends crank arms 31and 31', the purpose of which will be more fully hereinafter explained.Depending from the side bars 25 at a point substantially midway betweenopposite ends thereof are hangers 38 which cooperate with hangers 39adjacent the ends of the side bars 25 opposite that carrying the frame29, and carried by the lower ends of the hangers 38 is a table 40 whichis provided at spaced intervals with transversely extending stiffeningangles 40.

As illustrated, the table to projects beyond the ends of the side bars25 to which the hangers 39 are attached, and extending along oppositesides of the table are side boards 42 which act as guides for the filledsacks, as will be more fully hereinafter explained. The end of the tablewhich projects beyond the hangers 39 is recessed to receive the platformof a weighing scale 43 which is supported on a sub platform or table 56suspended from the underside of the table 49.

Mounted in suitable bearing brackets 45 and 46, respectively, carried bythe standards 25 and the frame 29, respectively, are transverselyextending shafts 4! and 48. Mounted on each shaft 41 and 48 for rotationtherewith is an octagonal drum 49 over which the sack conveyor,designated generally 50. is trained.

The sack conveyor 50 above referred to comprises a plurality of plateseach of which is formed with a centrally located orifice 52 ofrectangular configuration. Welded or otherwise attached to oppositesides of each plate 5| are links 53, pierced at opposite ends withaligning openings for the reception of hinge pins 54 by which the platesmay be joined together to form a continuous conveyor chain. Welded orotherwise attached to each plate adjacent one end of its respectiveorifice 52 are spaced parallel supporting arms 55 which extendperpendicular from the face of the plate to which they are attached.Pivoted, as at 56, to each plate 5| ad acent the edge of the orifice 52therein opposite that adjacent which the arms 55 are attached is a pairof spaced parallel swingin arms 51 which are adapted to move toward or aay from the arms 55 in uniseon. A lever arm 58 extends from the pivot 56of the arms 57, at one side of its respective orifice plate, and fixedadjacent the free end of the lever arm 58 is one end of a retractilecoil spring 59, the opposite end of which is anchored to an anchor post6|! so that the arms 5! are yieldingly urged a ay from the arms 55.Carried by each arm 58 and extending laterally beyond the side edge ofthe conveyor 50 formed by the orifice plates 5| is a finger 6| (Fig. '7)by means of which the arm 58 is moved to advance the arms 51 toward thearms 55 against the influence of the springs 59. These fingers areadapted to engage a cam rail 62 which extends between the standards 26and the frame 29 along one side of the machine and ad acent the upperrun of the conveyor 5|]. It will thus be seen that for the ma or lengthof the upper run of the conveyor 59 the free ends of the arms 5'! willbe moved toward the free ends of the arms 55 against the influence ofthe springs 59. In this way, sacks may be placed in an inverted positionon the upper run of the conveyor 59 with the arms 55 and 51 of eachorifice plate entering the open end of an inverted sack. As the sack ismoved along the conveyor and beyond the end of the cam rail 62, thefingers 51 are permitted to move under the influence of the springs 59in order to extend the mouth of the sack and support the sack byfriction on the arms 55 and 57 as its becomes righted in passing aroundthe octagonal drum 59 on the shaft 48 adjacent the drive end of themachine.

Supported on the side bar 2| intermediate the ends thereof is a bracket63 which projects inwardly toward the conveyor 59. This arm 53 extendsdownwardly and carries at the end opposite that attached to the rail 2|a socket 65 in which a post 65 is mounted. A similar bracket 56 isattached to a supporting rail 61 which extends parallel to the side rail2| between the side rail and the conveyor 50. The openings through thesockets 64 and 66 align with one another, and the axes thereof inclineat an angle to the vertical, so that the shaft 55 inclines upwardly andinwardly toward the longitudinal axis of the conveyor 50. The shaft 65has secured thereto between the brackets 64 and 55 a suitable ratchetwheel 68, and mounted for oscillation about the shaft 55 adjacent theratchet wheel 58 is a lever arm 55 carrying a dog 10, one end of whichis adapted to engage the periphery of the ratchet wheel 68 while one endof a retrac-tile coil spring so that as the lever arm is oscillatedabout the axis of the shaft 55, the ratchet wheel 68 will be v turned inone direction.

Secured to the shaft above the uppermost socket 66 is a rotary unitdesignated generally I2 which comprises a tubular core 73 fixed to theshaft for rotation therewith. Extending radially from the core 13 areradially spaced partition walls M, and surrounding the rotary element 12is a jacket 15 of substantially cylindrical form. This jacket 15 liesconcentric with the axis of the shaft 65, and is formed with a dischargeopening '16 which is located over the conveyor 50. A suitable bottom 17closes the lower ends of the compartments formed by th radial walls 14,and rotates with the walls 14 and core 13. Mounted directly above theuppermost end of the rotary feeder element 12 is the discharge end of anarticle chute 18 so that articles deposited in the chute will movedownwardly and drop by gravity into the uppermost compartment formedbetween the radiating walls 14.

In order to facilitate the discharge of the articles from thecompartments of the rotary element 12, we provide a guide funnel 18comprising a pair of spaced parallel wings, between the upper and lowerends of which extends shafts I9 carrying rollers over which an endlessbelt 8| is trained. This endless belt is provided with spaced knobs 82which project outwardly therefrom, and the belt forms the end wall whichcloses the end of the funnel 18 opposite that facing the rotary feeder12. The uppermost drive shaft 89 of the endless belt 8| extends beyondone end of the funnel and has connected thereto a drive pulley 83 whichhas driving connection through the medium of an endless drive belt 84with the drive pulley 85 carried on one end of the drive shaft of anelectric motor 86. It will thus be seen that with the motor 86 inoperation, the belt 8| will be driven so that the contents of thecompartments of the feeder 12 are discharged through the opening 16 inthe wall 15, they will contact the lugs 82 on the belt 8| so as to beagitated and thereby loosened for discharge into a sack through anorifice 52 in the conveyor 50.

Mounted for rotation directly beneath the sack filling station, i. e.,the discharge opening E6 on a shaft 81, is a drive pulley 88 of apackage conveyor, designated generally 89. This package conveyorcomprises an endless belt 90 which is trained over the drive pulley 88and an idler pulley 9| which is mounted for rotation about a shaft 92extending transversely of the machine at a point beyond the shaft 41 ofthe drum 49. The upper run of the bolt 90 runs over the table 40previously described which forms a support therefor. As illustrated, theupper run of the belt .90: passes'over' the platform of the scale. 43so. that filled sacks deposited on the package conveyor. 89 will passacross the scale platform before they are discharged from the machine.In this way, the weight of the packages may be determined.

In' order to drive. the drive pulley 68 and the shaftB'l thereof, we"mount adjacent one end of the. shaft a ratchet wheel 93 around which asprocket 94 rotates. This sprocket carries at diametricallyoppositepoints pivots 95 upon which dogs 95 are mounted for engagementwith the teeth of the ratchetwheel 93. These dogs are yieldingly urgedintoengagement with the teeth of; the ratchet wheel 93 by means ofcompression coil'springs 91, so that when the sprocket wheel is rotatedinone direction, the ratchet wheel 93 will be driven, but when thesprocket is rotated in the opposite direction, the ratchet wheel 93 willremain at rest.

Trained around the sprocket 94' is a chain es, one end of which isconnected to one end of a retractile coil spring 98, the opposite end ofwhich is coupled to a side rail 25 near the frame 29. The opposite endof the chain 83 is connected by means of a flexible member ice to a pullrod l! which is pivoted t N32 to a lever arm I03 which is mounted tooscillate about the shaft 48. The end of the lever arm its opposite thatmounted on the shaft 48 is connected by means of a link 104' to the endof the crank arm 3? opposite that coupled to the shaft 35. It will thusbe seen that as the drive wheel 33 is rotated, the link [94 willoscillate the arm &3, thus alternately exerting pull on the flexiblemember E00, and the end of the chain 98 connected therewith. In thisway, the sprocket 94 will be rotated about the axis of the shaft 87first in one direction under the influence of the pull on the flexiblemember ms, and then in the opposite direction under the influence of thespring 99. In this way, the belt 99 is advanced with a step-bystepmotion longitudinally along the upper side of the table 93 toward theweighing scale d3. As illustrated in Figure 8, the end of the lever rmms which rocks about the shaft 58 is provided with a spring-pressedlatch dog H3 5 which is adapted to engage the teethof a sprocket wheel"16' carried by the shaft 43, so that as the arm 33' oscillates, theshaft 48 will be driven in one direction, with a step-by-step motion soas to advance the conveyor 56 with a step-by-step motion in thedirection of the arrows. Coupled to the lever arm 69 is one end of alink lfil, the 0pposite end of which is pivoted, as at H53, to one armof a bellcrank lever 109 which is pivoted at Hi) to the side railopposite that to which the spring 95 is coupled. The opposite arm of thebellcrank lever M9 is pivotally connected to one end of a link ill, theopposite end of which is pivotally connected to the crank arm 3'!mounted on the end of the shaft opposite the crank arm 3?. It will thusbe seen that as the drive wheel 33 is rotated, the link it? will bereciprocated so as to alternately exert pull on the lever arm 69 anddrive the shaft 65 with a stepby-step motion.

In order conveniently to hold sacks i 12 (Fig. 5) in a position for anoperator to supply them to the conveyor 59, we provide a platform I l3having a longitudinal slot I 14 (Fig. 7) through which a suitablefollower H8 projects. This follower slides longitudinally in the slot H4and is provided with a hand-actuated clutch pin l 19 which is adapted toengage between the links of an endless conveyor chain I20. This. chainis trained over guide. sprockets l2| mounted adjacent op.- posite endsofthe platform I I3, and engaging the lower run of the conveyor chain 120is a sprocket wheel. I22 which is mounted on the shaft 48 to be drivenin unison therewith. It will thus be seen that the empty sacks stackedon the platform H3 will be compressed by the follower H8 against an endwall I23, and held in a position easily to be removed by an operator andmounted on the supporting arms 55 and 5'! of the conveyor 50.

In use, it will be understood. that a sack is selected from thegroup of.sacks H2 on the sack holder and, after having been opened, is invertedso that the fingers or arms 55 and 5'! of an orifice late 5! enter theopen mouth of the sack on the upper run of the conveyor 50. As theconveyor is advanced around the drum 49 on the shaft 48, the fingers (iicontrolling the arm 51' on the respective orifice plates pass beyond theend of the cam rail 62, thus allowing the spring 59 of the respectiveorifice plates to move the arms 57 to hold the sack extended. In itsextended position, the sack moves with the conveyor around the drum 49on the shaft 48 until it is righted, and in this position, it isadvanced toward the feeder E2. The articles to be packaged are depositedin the chute 18' and flow downwardly therein to the discharge endthereof where they enter a compartment of the feeder. Oscillation of thearm 69 .by means of the link it"! causes the feeder to be rotated sothat the filled compartment is eventually moved into alignment with thedischarge [6, and the contents of the compartment are discharged throughthe opening 16 and the orifice 52 in an orifice plate 5! which alignswith the feeder, to be deposited in the bag or sack supported on armsand 57 on the respective orifice plate. The discharge of the articles isaided by setting the motor into operation so as to drive the apron 3iand loosen the articles in order readily to discharge them from thecompartment in the feeder. As soon as the bag or sack has received itscharge of articles, it moves by gravity in a vertical path onto the belt96 of the package conveyor. The package is then advanced in astepby-step motion on the belt toward the weighing scale 43, eventuallyto pause on the platform thereof for a period of time sufficient toenable the weight to be determined accurately. Articles are removed fromover-weight packages, and added to under-weight packages until thedesired weight is attained. The packages are then removed and sealed andare ready for distribution in the ordinary manner.

While in the foregoing there has been shown and described the preferredembodiment of this invention, it is to be understood that minor changesin the details of construction, combination and arrangement of parts maybe resorted to without departing from the spirit and scope of theinvention as claimed.

Having described the invention, what is claimed as new is:

1. In a packaging machine a bag extending and advancing conveyorcomprising a group of juxtaposed orifice plates pivoted together atadjacent edges to form an endless carrier which moves in a closed pathabout spaced parallel axes lying in a common horizontal plane, a pair ofbag engaging fingers fixed to each orifice plate adjacent the orificetherein, said fingers projecting perpendicularly from the outer sides ofthe plates, a pair of bag engaging and extending fingers pivoted to theouter side of each orifice plate on the side of the orifice thereinremote from the fixed fingers, a lever arm coupled to the pivotedfingers for moving said fingers in unison, yielding means coupled to thelever arm and to its respective orifice plate to urge the free ends ofthe pivoted fingers away from the fixed fingers, a cam rail mountedadjacent the carrier, means on each lever arm for engaging the cam railand moving its respective pivoted fingers against the efiort of itsrespective yielding means and means mounted between the spacedhorizontal axes for feeding articles through the orifice plates and intobags held by the fingers.

2. In a, packaging machine, a bag extending and advancing conveyorcomprising: A group of orifice plates pivotally connected together atjuxtaposed edges to form an endless carrier which moves in a closed pathabout spaced parallel axes, first plural means fixedly mounted on saidplates and extending therefrom for engagement with a bag, second pluralmeans pivotally mounted on said plates and adapted to extend and engagethe bag at points remote from the engagement points of said first pluralmeans, means for yieldingly urging said second plural means to a bagextending position, and means for positively positioning said secondplural means in a bag receiving position when said plates are on oneside of said path, said orifice plates having orifices overlying theopen ends of the bags whereby the article to be packaged can bedispensed therethrough.

3. In a packaging machine, a bag extending and advancing conveyorcomprising: A group of orifice plates pivotally connected together atjuxtaposed edges to form an endless carrier which moves in a, closedpath about spaced parallel axes, first plural means fixedly mounted onsaid plates and extending therefrom for engagement with a bag, secondplural means pivotally mounted on said plates and adapted to extend andengage the bag at points remote from the engagement points of said firstplural means, means for yieldingly urging said second plural means to abag extending position, said urging means including a lever arm coupledto said second plural means for simultaneous movement thereof, yieldingmeans coupled to the lever arm and to its respective orifice plate forpivotally urging said second plural means to a position away from saidfirst plural means for supporting a bag, said orifice plates havingorifices overlying the open ends of the bags whereby the article to bepackaged can be dispensed therethrough.

4. In a packaging machine, a bag extending and advancing conveyorcomprising: A group of orifice plates pivotally connected togetherat'juxtaposed edges to form an endless carrier which moves in a closedpath about spaced parallel axes, first plural means fixedly mounted onsaid plates and extending therefrom for engagement with a bag, secondplural means pivotally mounted on said plates and adapted to extend andengage the bag at points remote from the engagement points of said firstplural means, means for yieldingly urging said second plural means to abag extending position, said urging means including a lever arm coupledto said second plural means for simultaneous movement thereof, yieldingmeans coupled to the lever arm and to its respective orifice plate forpivotally urging said second plural means to a position away from saidfirst plural means for supporting a bag, and means for positivelypositioning said second plural means in a bag receiving position whensaid plates are on one side of said path, said orifice plates havingorifices overlying the open ends of the bags whereby the article to bepackaged can be dispensed therethrough.

CLIFFORD B. McHALE. EMIL H. JANSSEN.

REFERENCES CITED lhe following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 776,829 Ennis Dec. 6, 1904830,259 Stanley Sept. 4, 1906 1,058,747 I-Ioepner Apr. 15, 19131,079,628 Armbruster Nov. 25, 1913 1,382,141 Stickels June 21, 19211,499,822 Gwinn et a1 July 1, 1924 1,527,406 Hansen Feb. 24, 19251,652,597 Ayers Dec. 13, 1927 2,342,369 Ransbottom Feb. 22, 19442,359,786 Pechy Oct. 10, 1944 2,446,798 Vergobbi Aug. 10, 1948 2,467,766McCaslin Apr. 19, 1949

